Pool Cue News and Review

am·a·teur [am-uh-choor, -cher, -ter, am-uh-tur]
–noun
1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons. Compare professional.
2. an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize.

pro·fes·sion·al      [pruh-fesh-uh-nl]
–adjective
1.    following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain.
2.    following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime.

So when is an amateur not really an amateur? Why in the world of pool of course! All around the US, there are “amateur” events where players win cash prizes. Take the upcoming Super Billiards Expo as an example. The Amateur Open pays $5,000 to first place. Considering the fact that a $5,000 prize is larger than the top prizes for most of the regional tournaments, is this really an “amateur” event?  Even the APA has these end of  the year tournaments where everyone treks to Vegas for a shot at winning bigger cash prizes than you’ll see at pretty much any pro tournament.

Granted, no one can really make a living as a professional billiards player, which is why you see names like Karen Corr and Johnny Archer showing up at podunk tournaments taking down giant $900 cash prizes.  Hell, Karen can’t even get herself a sponsor!  Face it, if you’re a second tier pro player like Megan Minerich who will be lucky if she sees a TV round a few times in her lifetime, you need to find a second job.  Some become instructors, which is pretty cool in my opinion, while others don’t stray far and become card dealers or just make a living hustling suckers out of their hard earned cash.

Are pool players amateurs or pros if they get paid to play?  Since they don’t get paid much, lets just call them pros and semi-pros.